1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to storage of electrical cords in general and more specifically to storage of cords equipped with an earpiece and a microphone which are commonly used with cellular telephones and portable radios.
2. Prior Art
Some cellular—and portable phone and portable radio users choose to utilize an external cord equipped with an earpiece and sometimes a microphone, rather than using an earpiece and a microphone integral to a phone or a radio itself.
Unfortunately, the cords are somewhat cumbersome when not in use. The cords are by necessity up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) long and tend to tangle when not used. Some users fold them for storage, while others wrap them around a telephone itself, still others just crumple them. In either case, the subsequent use of these cords is at best slowed down, if not precluded altogether, especially when a user has to answer an incoming telephone call.
Even coiled cords, while being generally shorter than the straight cords, still are awkward to store since they resist folding more than the straight cords do.
There exist spring-loaded winding devices which store cellular phone cords in a wound position.
The disadvantages of these devices are that they are relatively bulky and heavy, close in size to the telephone itself, require a user to wear them on his or her belt close to the cellular phone, or hang the telephone from the device itself.
One such device is offered by Belkin Components of Compton, Calif. In this design a phone is hung from a cord winding device, which makes the phone to protrude significantly away from the user's body, creating a nuisance.
In contrast, the cord storage device of the present invention can be permanently or semi-permanently attached to the side of the cellular phone or it can be inserted under- and held by the protective case into which a phone can be inserted. It stays with the phone whether the phone is worn, held or put away.
None of the prior art discloses a cord storage device as disclosed and claimed herein.